Yep. Xbox needs to penetrate Japan again if they want japanese titles. Moneyhatting isn't the major issue in japan.

It doesn't help at mid gen. It only matters in the beginning. Microsofts only card to play against Sony is online and power. Currently this gen  they launched with virtually none of the advantages. Now people are looking for base models because they don't want to spend a large amount of money. The Xbox one x will not change the narrative. It gives people the wrong idea of what matters. You will see though..... they will have a slight sales spike in November and December and that will be it. Microsoft needs to get out of this frame of mind that fourth quarter can save them. They need to think year round like Sony. The only way to gain that level of reception  is with high quality content. Their first party is not known for that. Microsoft has to fix their first party and I'm sorry but they will have to commit billions to that. We won't see much of that initiative either until next gen. Micorsoft did a good thing by taking exclusives away from Sony but all that did was make sonys first party stronger. Ever since micorsoft has had no answer.

It's not only exclusives they are lacking, half or more of their market share comes from US market, compare that to Sony and it makes a big difference
Last year they had the S released, their where bundles with EA to support it, now even EA is on Sony's side, They are competing directly with Sony but all the time they fall further behind, Globaly Sony's presence is almost everywhere, while micro still limit itself to certain markets
They lost Japanese third party support, most of those are Sony exclusives even in the west, and without a strong first party line up I think the outcome was clear
Let's see what the X can do, will it get stronger support?, bundles, first party exclusives, & better deals?, from what I we if things continue the way they are then the gap will keep on growing and they need to start planning their next gen carefully

A lack of exclusives (quality and especially quantity) have always been xbox's problem but this gen, the lack of exclusives has gotten especially bad. If MS is serious about staying in the console market and competing, it needs to start building as many studios as possible for the next gen and be as consumer friendly as possible for it's base to grow and do alot better..

When you compare the original Xbox to Xbox One, I think what stands out is that the dedication to winning, or competing, isn't there anymore. I honestly don't think Microsoft cares about being top dog or taking down Sony anymore. If they did, there would surely be a lot more going on than there is now.

Micorsoft wants to dominate the console and pc market. Their primary goal is to try to dominate the marketsharescurrently enjoyed by steam and Sony. Why? Because windows has to be the hub wheee everyone goes for their multimedia. See the problem is they lack resolve and have little talent to get the job done. Look at what happens with windows phone and the zune. They want to be everywhere but lack the resolve to close the deal.

That's what I meant. You can be good at lots of things but you really can only be great at one thing. Microsoft wanted to dominate the console insdutry at one point and the original Xbox and Xbox 360 was the result. They lasered in, focused and spent BIG. 

If they wanted to compete, they could. They have the money to buy just about any IP and talent they want. The fact that they aren't is telling.

The most powerful console has never won a generation and Microsoft helped Sony achieve that this generation by releasing the X.

Seems to have worked well enough for the PS4 this gen. 

XBox One X is likely to have the best version of Grand Theft Auto VI, Red Dead Revolver 2, etc. etc. That will be huge for MS, a lot bigger than some exclusive that in reality while exciting to hardcore/niche gamers on message boards, the broader "dudebros" don't really care that much about. 

Horizon: Zero Dawn is a cool game, but really did it do *that* much for the PS4? No. 

MS' best play now is to market the hell out of the fact that they're likely going to have the best versions of many of the gen's remaining big titles. 

Every XBox One X commercial should happen home "world's most powerful console", "best version of COD/GTA/Star Wars Battlefront/etc. etc." over and over and over again. 

GTAVI is the big one. They should already be phoning Rockstar and wanting console branding/bundling on that and cross promotion. 

The fact that they have to buy ips shows that they cannot compete creatively. Think about this. Microsoft would buy both Sony and Nintendos first party if they could in heart beat. Imagine if Microsoft actually ran them both out of the industry. It would be horrible.